Ustadh Sulayman Muhammad Shahnawaz

Ustadh Sulayman Muhammad Shahnawaz is known to infuse warmth, humor, and a high level of excellence in his teaching. The combination of his gentle character and deep understanding of the Arabic language makes him the perfect instructor of beginning Arabic students, providing them with a solid foundation in the language.

Born in the UK and a graduate with Honors in Middle Eastern Studies (Arabic and Persian Language) from the University of Manchester in 1996, Ustadh Sulayman furthered his studies of Arabic by living in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. He completed both the Dawrah in Classical Arabic at the University of Alexandria and two years of Arabic study at the famous Abi Noor Institute in Damascus. Ustadh Sulayman has many years of Arabic teaching experience in MSA and Rihla 1996/97 and experience teaching ESL at Amideast in Amman. He has been living in Amman since 2003 with his wife and children, continuing his studies of Arabic and the religious sciences with local shuyukh. He teaches introductory Arabic at SunniPath.

Ustadh Sulayman Fact Sheet:

Full Name: Sulayman Mohammed Shanawaz
Kunya: Abu Ibrahim
Place of Birth: Coventry, England
Places Lived: Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Jordan
Current Residence: Amman
Ethnicity: Pakistani
Languages: English, Arabic, Urdu (Medium), Persian (Basic)
Children: Ibrahim, Mustafa, Maryam, Ma'n and Abd al-Rahman
College Education: BA in Middle Eastern Studies (Arabic and Persian languages) with honors, University of Manchester
Previous Teaching Experience: Assisted Shaykh Hamza Yusuf in providing support Arabic classes at the Rihla 1996 and 1997; ESL instructor at Amideast
Favorite Books: Arabic & Fiqh Books
Favorite Hobbies: Growing up, his favorite hobbies were stamp collecting and legos. As a teenager, he played most sports but was particularly fond of football and cricket, playing the latter at league level. If the given the opportunity, he would love to visit the rest of the countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Islamic Education:
Completed Dawrah in Classical Arabic at the University of Alexandria, Egypt
Completed 2-Years of Arabic study at Jamia Abi Nur, Damascus, Syria
Studied Modern Literary Arabic at the University of Manchester
Completed the reading of the Ajurrumiyya with a number of teachers
Currently reading Fiqh and Arabic texts with local teachers in Amman. Have also developed an active interest in Tafsir and 'Irab of the Quran
Reading a book in Islamic History and Tafsir al-Nasfi with Ismail Abu Mu'adh

Courses Taught:

Summer 2010 Courses

1. Intermediate Arabic Part 1
2. Introductory Arabic 1

Spring 2010 Courses

1. Intermediate Arabic Part 1
2. Introductory Arabic 1

Fall 2009 Courses

1. Introductory Arabic 1
2. Introductory Arabic 2

Summer 2009 Courses

1. Introductory Arabic 1
2. Introductory Arabic 2

Spring 2009 Courses

1. Introductory Arabic 1
2. Introductory Arabic 2

What His Students Say:

“The instructor is a very nice loving Muslim teacher. He helps us to greatly understand the task at hand. Whenever there is a problem he helps us to completely understand of what is going on, he is ready to take questions at anytime, and he has some side humorous jokes related to the passages that we translate in his class.”
Usman Qadri
Middle School Student, Boonsboro, USA

“Ustadh Sulaiman is very passionate about the subject and even more passionate about helping us understand.”
Tushar Bhuiya
English Tutor, Leicester, UK

“Ustadh Sulayman was great. I always look forward to his class. The live tutorials are definitely an important part of our learning experience of the language. He always makes sure that we understand the material for each class, and is patient in going through any doubts or questions that we have. He is also kind to his students, and I like how he imparts beautiful nuggets of Islamic wisdom through our lessons (e.g. when we look at certain hadiths or Quranic verses). Ustadh was also very encouraging, and especially for someone who was struggling like me, he assured his students to never give up , and that eventually the comprehension will come with time...and it did! Alhamdullilah :)”
Aisyah Othman
Student, Brunei

“Shaykh Sulayman is a brilliant professor mashaAllah. His easy going manner in class with careful aid to all students is to be commended. He asks questions when students answer incorrectly to guide them to the correct answer. He provides lots of examples.”
Aisha Younas
Student, Mississauga, Canada

“Sheikh Sulayman was very quick to realise if individual students were not participating in live sessions, and he brought them back into the class with relevant questions. He was always very encouraging. He showed great humility and has a fine sense of humour.”
Jacqueline Greig
Health Advocate, London, UK

“Ust. Sulayman, Masha'Allah, has an infectious enthusiasm when teaching. He keeps each and every individual student in the class engaged and on their toes during the whole lesson. Without that active focus it wouldn't be possible to take onboard soo much material. An amazing teacher, Masha'Allah.”
Nosheen Ayyub
Software Developer, Manchester, UK

“Mashallah he is good, especially his way of emphasizing the concepts and carrying out drills.”
Obaidullah Mohammed
GIS Urban Planner, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“(Ustadh Sulayman) kept us on our toes all the time.The live sessions were extremely interactive and stimulating.He was very patient w/our mistakes and always explained things in detail.”
Ghazala Rashid
Home maker, Karachia, Pakistan

“(Ustadh Sulayman) helped us work at a pace that was befitting for all the students. Sometimes he still moved on and said we will get it later but he gave us the time that we needed to understand new concepts. He was not a boring instructor...he gave us examples that we could reflect on and sometimes we would discuss them. He always got us involved to participate in practice problems in order to make sure we are getting the concepts. He directed specific questions to specific students based on their questions of the material. He still managed to help us individually in a classroom of students where we each benefitted. the examples that he chose to use for practice work seemed to be the best examples!!”
Alaa Mohamad
SunniPath Student, Philadelphia, USA

“No improvements required. Excellent Ustah, very encouraging and approachable. Made it easy for us to learn and a pleasant experience.”
Maaz Farooq
Doctor, Manchester, UK

“I appreciate Ustaz's Sulayman enormous patience with us, and his deep knowledge in the wisdome behind some of the hadiths or Quranic passages he quoted in his exercises. He is also very encouraging and never fail to inspire.”
Zuzanita Zakaria
Producer, Vancouver, Canada

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